


Of Books and Love

by islandgurrl1999



Category: The Maze Runner (Movies)
Genre: <3, Bookstore AU!, I squealed the entire time I was writing this, M/M, There's precious little of it though, This title absolutely sucks, but I couldn't think of anything else, newtmas - Freeform, rated T for some swearing, super cute, super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 11:38:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11622741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islandgurrl1999/pseuds/islandgurrl1999
Summary: Newt owns a bookstore and Thomas needs to find a "rare book" that will take "weeks to find".ORTwo idiots in love can't see that the other is their soulmate.ORThat one bookstore AU that no one asked for.





	Of Books and Love

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, everyone! Here's a super fluffy fic because I miss writing for my babies!! I've been so busy lately...but anyways, dive in and enjoy! P.S. Teresa is soooo me in this one!!

     Newt bustled around his bookstore, tidying shelves, putting books back, and dusting off the tables. It was almost closing time and Newt felt a wave of relief. He couldn’t wait to go home and sleep. He neared the door and was just about to turn the little open sign to closed when a frantic boy showed up right in front of it. He whipped open the door causing Newt to lose balance and fall into the arms of a stranger.

    “Oh my God! I’m so sorry! I was just in a rush because I thought this was closed and I need a particular book and holy shit, you are beautiful!” The strange boy babbled. Newt blushed deeply at the last part and quickly recovered his balance, although, admittedly, he missed the warmth of the stranger’s embrace.

     “No! That’s not what I meant! I mean it is, because I said it, but I didn’t mean for it to come out! My mom says I have no filter. Are you closed?” The boy stared at Newt in a hopeful way, his chocolate brown eyes taking on a puppy dog pout. Newt felt intrigued by the other teen and dazedly stepped to the side.

     “Um, well, technically we are..but I can make an exception for you…?”

     “Thomas. Thomas Greene. And you?”

     “Newt Isaacs…”

     “Well Newt, thanks so much for making an exception. I’m actually looking for a, uh, very rare book. We probably couldn’t find it if we looked for hours.”

Newt’s eyes glinted with determination.

     “We can find it, Tommy. I know where every book in this store is!” 

Newt thought he saw Thomas’ face fall, but it brightened at the use of a special nickname.

     “Tommy? That’s cute.” Newt blushed and looked away.

     “Um..what book are you looking for?”

Thomas gave him a big, cheesy grin.

     “I’m, uh, looking for a signed edition of….uh….Un Coup de Des by…”

     “Stephen Mallarme. So you’re into poetry?”

Thomas shrugged.

     “A little. It’s...for a class.”

     “Well then, come on. Let’s look for it.” Newt gave him a shy smile and led him over to the older books section. The boys spent a solid hour looking through the books but to no avail.

     “Eh, listen Newt. I’ll swing by tomorrow, earlier this time I promise. We can continue looking then.”

     “Sounds good, Tommy.” Newt said. Thomas fidgeted for a minute in between the shelves before he finally looked at the blonde.

     “I...Can I have your phone number?” At the look of shock on Newt’s face, he hastened to explain himself.

     “I mean, so that if you by chance find the book when I’m gone not so that I could just have it to call you and talk about your day, cause that would just be….” He trailed off and Newt felt a surge of hope.

     “Yes, Tommy. I’ll give you my number, but I don’t see how that will help if you don’t give me yours.”

Thomas’ eyes widened and a small blush appeared at the tips of his ears. 

     “Oh! Right!” He hastily grabbed a pen off of Newt’s desk and handed it to him. “You first.” He presented his arm but Newt grabbed his large, warm hand. He turned it around and held it in his smaller one. Then, he slowly wrote his number and name on the palm of Thomas’ hand. He thought he heard Thomas mutter something under his breath, and it sounded a lot like he would never wash this hand again, but he didn’t know for sure. Sadly, it was over too soon and Newt pulled away, handing Thomas the pen in turn. Thomas’ gaze softened and he wrote his number and name on the delicate skin of Newt’s inner wrist. He added little hearts and faces all around it before reluctantly letting Newt have his wrist back.

     “Great. I’ll see you tomorrow then, Tommy.”

Thomas nodded and with a smile he was gone. Newt stared at the empty spot he had just occupied and let out a sigh. He kept telling himself it was a sigh of relief, but if the books could talk, they’d say it was a dreamy sigh and the humming he did afterwards was a dead giveaway. Newt had fallen in love with an almost complete stranger.

~*~

     “Newt? Newt!”

     “In the back, Tommy.” Newt lifted his head from the boxes he had been unpacking and smiled softly at the brunette teenager. Thomas had been coming around the bookstore for two weeks straight to look for his rare book. But the boys had spent less and less time actually looking for it and it seemed like Thomas came to hang out with Newt instead. 

     “Is the book in those crates?”

Newt let out a laugh.

     “Maybe, I’m not sure yet.”

     “Have I ever told you how cool you’re accent is? I mean, when I first saw you, I knew you were an angel, but a BRITISH angel? That’s not fair for the rest of us, we can’t compete.”

A blush stained Newt’s cheeks from his words and he looked away shyly.

     “Um..thank you, T-Tommy..”

Thomas smiled gently at him and opened his mouth to say something. But he was cut off by his phone ringing. Cursing, and sending Newt an apologetic glance, he turned away and answered it.

     “What, Teresa!....yeah….yeah, I know....no, you don’t understand he’s….sure….I know, Teresa!...now leave me alone!...what?...okay, fine...yes, yes, whatever, just go away….alright...alright….bye.” He hung up and gave Newt another apologetic smile. 

     “I’m sorry, Newt. My sister wants me to get some things for a dinner we’re having tonight.”

     “That’s okay, Tommy. We can keep looking tomorrow.”

     “Wait...Newt?”

     “Yes?”

     “Do you want to come tonight? I’d really like it if you did. I mean it doesn’t have to be a weird thing...unless you want it to be, but I think you’re an amazing person and I want you to meet my sister and her friend Brenda who is also amazing. You should come!”

Newt blushed deeper and looked down at his shoes.

     “Is it...would it be..okay?” He asked. Thomas nodded furiously before grabbing Newt’s hand.

     “I’ll pick you up at 6, okay?” Then, he let go and bounded out of the store, a huge smile on his face. Newt felt heat creeping up his neck and he looked back down at the boxes. What he saw in there made a smile appear on his face and he lifted a signed copy of Un Coup de Des from the top. 

~*~

     “So Newt, this is my sister Teresa and her best friend Brenda. Guys, this is Newt!”

The trio shook hands before Brenda led them to the table. The night whizzed by with food, fun, and laughter. During dessert, Newt lifted a wrapped package and handed it over to Thomas. 

     “Tommy, here.”

Thomas smiled at him and carefully unwrapping the package, his eyes widening when he saw the book.

     “Oh, Newt! This is...great…” His voice trailed off and he stared hard at the book. Newt noticed the pause and he frowned.

     “Is everything okay, Tommy?”

Thomas looked up and gave him a quick smile before setting the book aside.

     “Yeah, sorry. Uh...do you guys want dessert?”

Without waiting for an answer, Thomas stood up and walked briskly from the room, leaving a confused Newt in his wake. The blonde looked over at the two girls who shrugged apologetically at him.

     “So you own a bookstore, Newt?” Teresa asked, in an attempt to clear the awkward silence. Newt cleared his throat and nodded.

     “Ehm, yeah...it’s nothing much…”

Brenda smirked and leaned over the table.

     “It’s enough for Thomas to go there everyday for hours on end.” She said, making the tips of Newt’s ears flush.

     “Y-yeah...he and I were looking for that book,” Newt pointed at the book, still halfway wrapped in the paper, “He..he needed it for a class..”

Teresa and Brenda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.

     “Wait, you actually believed…”

     “Alright guys! Who’s ready for this?” Thomas barged in, holding a tuxedo cake in his hands. He put it down next to Newt, completely oblivious to the blushing blonde. 

     “Tom! Tuxedo cake is my favorite!” Teresa exclaimed, clapping her hands as Thomas graced her with a fond smile.

     “I know, T. That’s why I got it.”

He cut 4 even slices and plated them. Newt noticed, a little blushingly, that Thomas gave him the first piece, laying it down in front of him almost reverently.

     “Thank you, Tommy.”

Thomas just smiled before handing Teresa and Brenda theirs. 

     “So what class did you need that book for, Thomas?” Brenda asked, almost coyly. Teresa shot her a glance and they giggled a little together. Thomas glared at them, warningly.

     “Oh, uh, just...uh, World Literature.” The brunette sneaked a look at Newt who was eating his cake and seemingly not paying any mind to them.

     “I thought you finished…” Teresa started, before getting cut off by Brenda’s elbow in her ribs. “Oh...Ohhh...right..” She winked at her brother.

     “Where do you go to school, Tommy?” Newt asked, putting his fork down.

     “Oh, the university.” Newt’s eyes widened.

     “I do, too!”

Thomas smiled.

     “Yeah? I never see you around…” Newt blushed and looked down.

     “I usually do early morning classes or late night. So, you know, it doesn’t interfere with the bookstore.” 

Thomas laughed.

     “Then that makes sense. So um..Newt...do you mind if I drop by again tomorrow?”

Newt looked up at him, a little surprised.

     “Um…”

     “Because I need to look for another book! Not because I just want to spend time with you because that would be...ugh, amazing!...but because I just need to find another book, um, a...a cookbook! Yeah! For my mom! We probably won’t be able to find one she doesn’t own, but we can look! It’ll probably take us a couple of months because…”

Newt raised his eyebrows and put his hand up for Thomas to stop.   
     “Tommy, it’s a free country, you can come by tomorrow if you want to. But, um, I wouldn’t have minded if...if you didn’t need to look for a book.” Newt looked away and became suddenly interested in his jacket zipper.

     “Right. Um..well then, I will see you tomorrow!”

The rest of the night moved on way too fast for Newt’s liking and it seemed like only minutes had passed when he stood outside of Thomas’ door.

     “Thank you, Tommy. This was a lot of fun and, well, between classes and the bookstore, I don’t get to get out very often. So...thank you.”

Thomas gave him a warm smile.

     “No, thank you.”

     “See you tomorrow, Tommy.”

     “See you tomorrow, Newt.”

Thomas closed the door and Newt began his short walk home. But before he could get 5 steps into the night, the door swung open again and Teresa came bounding down the steps.

     “Newt! Wait!”

The blonde stopped and regarded the girl curiously.

     “Teresa? Aren’t you freezing? It’s the middle of December and you don’t have a coat!” 

The brunette waved him off impatiently and drew closer.

     “Hey, listen. I just wanted to let you know that Thomas thinks very highly of you.”

Newt raised his eyebrows.

     “Oh? Well, I think highly of him as well.”

Teresa shook her head, frustrated.

     “No, what I mean is...he…” She groaned and pulled on her hair. “You boys! So clueless!”

Newt’s confused blank look just spurred her on even more.

     “Okay, listen. Thomas didn’t really need that book.”

     “What? What do you mean?”

     “What I mean is he didn’t need that book for his World Literature class. That class finished, like, a month ago! Plus, don’t you think it’s a little odd that he’d try to find a super rare book that you most likely didn’t carry? And, he’d always leave for hours on end to go to your bookstore and then come back gushing about how amazing the owner was and how much he wanted to get to know the owner better. And then tonight? A cookbook for our mother? Our mom hates cooking so much that her first ten numbers on speed dial are pizza delivery places! Even before her own husband and children! Listen, all I’m saying is...hey, maybe Thomas likes you a little more than maybe you were thinking.” 

Newt, who had been blushing through her entire account, looked over her shoulder at her house thoughtfully.

     “M-maybe...um...thank you, Teresa.”

     “Don’t mention it.”

Newt turned around and resumed his slow walk, confusion still bubbling inside of him.

     “I’m nothing if not a cute boys love fangirl.”

Newt whipped around.

     “What?”

     “Huh? Oh nothinggggg. Goodnight, Newtie!!” And with that, Teresa pranced back to the house and slammed the door shut. Newt smiled after her and shoved his hands in his pockets. Tomorrow. Tommy. He would take this one step at a time and see where it led him. After all, he knew where every book in the store was and he sure as hell was going to hide every single book of the cooking variety in the very back of the store.

**Author's Note:**

> Remember kiddies, comments give me life! Kudos give me love! Bookmarks give me hope! I love hearing from you guys and it actually encourages me to write more! Love you guys!!


End file.
